ICC Board ‘suspends’ Sri Lanka cricket, now what will be the ‘future’ of cricket in Sri Lanka?

The ICC Board has suspended the ICC membership of Sri Lanka Cricket with immediate effect.

After Zimbabwe Cricket, the second team to be suspended in the last four years :-

Sri Lanka cricket is the second full member nation to be suspended by the ICC in the last four years after Zimbabwe Cricket was suspended in 2019 due to government interference.

In a statement issued on the night of 10 November, ICC said:-

In a statement issued on the night of 10 November, the ICC said that Sri Lanka Cricket had breached its obligations as a member, particularly the requirement to manage its affairs independently and without government interference.

Although the ICC has called this sanction a “suspension”; it is more of a warning as the ICC seeks to prevent further government interference in the operations of the SLC.

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Impact of this suspension on Sri Lankan cricket:-

This suspension will not have any immediate serious impact on Sri Lankan cricket. Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign ended on November 9 and there will be no cricket in Sri Lanka until December. Also, no ICC funds will go to SLC till January.

You should also know that the ICC meetings to be held in three months are scheduled on 18-21 November in Ahmedabad. The ICC Board met online on 9 November to address the SLC situation – government interference in all areas from administration to finance and even matters related to the national team. The next action will be decided in the ICC Board meeting on 21 November.

It may seem to all of us that the ICC’s decision has come suddenly; but SLC is not surprised by it. It is understood that SLC had asked the ICC Board to take this extreme step.

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What will happen in the meetings to be held between 18-21 November?

The ICC has also continued to recognize SLC president Shammi Silva, who is currently in India and attended the November 9 meeting, as an elected representative for the meetings to be held between 18-21 November. He is also likely to be present at the ICC meetings in Ahmedabad. As the ICC Board has allowed SLC representatives to attend as observers.